


Geneforge: Hand of Judgement

by Celevoir



Category: Geneforge
Genre: Altered Conversations and Events, Gen, I know how this ends but even I don't know how long this will wind up being, Mod Inclusion during Gameplay, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Out the Gate and already too close to death - Freeform, The Protagonist did WHAT?!, Unpredictable Results
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-29
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-05-29 23:29:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6398614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celevoir/pseuds/Celevoir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not your typical Geneforge 5 story. While events may play out roughly the same, what actually happens can vary by a great amount, including a few things Mr. Vogal couldn't get away with in his games. A human with a highly-unusual appearance begins to regain awareness of whom he is on a seemingly-random day. With his mental awakening do other forces start to turn in the background, though there are questions in his journey that haunt him.</p>
<p>Who is he really? Why do so many seem to recognize him? And why are many so eager to recruit him from both sides of the supposed war that's been happening around him all this time?</p>
<p>And why did he look so WEIRD?!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

The Shapers have the power to create life.  
  
They can make plants and animals to populate barren lands and intelligent, loyal serviles to do their menial work. And, if challenged, they can create armies of hideous monsters to devistate their foes.  
  
The Shapers rule the known lands and their authority is absolute. There is one punishment for those who try to learn their secrets and for any creations who try to disobey them: death.  
  
And so the rebellion began.  
  
It was an alliance of humans tired of Shaper rule and intelligent creations who wanted to be free. They rose up, stole some of their masters' powers for themselves, and attacked.  
  
The Shapers were caught by surprise. Much of the eastern half of Terrestia was lost. Many of the Shapers and those loyal to them were slain. Proud cities were razed to the ground. Devastating attempts to put down the rebellion failed.  
  
Now the Shapers and the Rebellion are in a gruesome standoff. Each side uses the powers of the Shapers to create generations of new, brutal monsters and sends them to attack the other.  
  
The result has been devastation. The war ravaged more and more lands. The rebel army, commanded by the mighty drakons, have brought fire and fang to ever more unprepared Shaper lands, lands that thought the destruction could never reach them.  
  
All attempts to end the war have failed. The drakons are too powerful to be defeated and too consumed by hatred of the Shapers to accept peace.  
  
Or so it is said. There is one young man, isolated from the rest of his kind, that was barely even aware of such a war, or much of anything, unfortunately. If he were to try to think back to the select few memories he did miraculously maintain, he had been doing menial labor for as far back as he could dare to think.  
  
This young, unnamed man, is a worker of the Foundary, a Shaper research facility for the care, analysis, and, if needed, destruction of creations. In specific, he was one of the laborers who cares for these magic-born creatures alongside the serviles that also worked there.  
  
Almost without fail did he feed and clean up after the various creations. While a few of the Shapers in command tried to see if he was capable of more involved instructions, they soon realized fast that, sadly enough, he wasn't.  
  
And so the years passed, as the war crept closer and closer to the icy mountain refuge he had come to think of as 'home' when he could have a moment to think. But, even he did not seem to be aware that this one day was destined to be different for him...


	2. Open Your Eyes

Vivid-blue hair peeked out from underneath a heavily-worn blanket within the cramped room with thin blankets and worn pillows strewn about the floor, barely moving until the person under the blanket turned from one side to the other in his slumber to reveal a yellow-tinted hand poking out from underneath. The faint sounds of screaming was heard nearby, though he did not stir because of it.  
  
Though his eyes did open slowly from underneath them, revealing an unusual pair of neon-green eyes with dark-green pupils. As the screaming started to grow louder, he slowly got up into a sitting position, though he was still feeling somewhat dazed. Looking around himself, at where he had just been laying, the strange feeling that he wasn't supposed to be there began to prick the back of his mind, though he did not know why.  
  
Only after a few minutes of thought did he finally recognize the sounds of combat outside, and they gave no indicator that they would be stopping any time soon. Carefully getting up onto his feet, he was soon revealed to be wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt and vivid-purple pants in addition to faded yellow shoes. Around his neck hung a gold chain with a glowing blue jewel hanging from it.  
  
After standing for a few seconds did he remember that he needed something to possibly defend himself with. With this in mind, he slowly walked towards the one exit of the room, soon walking into the common room of the building, where apparently he and several others would often eat and gather for warmth in the cold place they were in.  
  
But...didn't he just have the feeling he didn't belong here...?  
  
Shaking his head, he looked off towards his left, towards what he recalled to be a storage room of sorts. Shuffling his feet over to it, he opened it up to see three things immediately.  
  
The first thing he grabbed was the chitin armor, which was comprised of the hardened parts of certain creations in addition to various belts to keep it in place. To his surprise, if he was capable of such, he was able to remember how to correctly put it on himself, making sure that his chest especially was shielded from harm. Next was the shield on the table, a simple wooden one, but still sturdy in its own way. Then, finally, he held the dagger on the table in his own hand, realizing fast that there was a chance he might actually harm himself with it upon holding it. His palm was actually larger than the handle of the dagger.  
  
Shaking his head of the thought, he moved over towards the nearby cupboard, seeing a flash of yellow cloth enter his view immediately. It looked to him like a jacket of some sort, only the neck and sleeves were lined with the same color of purple as his pants. Folded up at the bottom was another splotch of yellow that matched the jacket. After putting on the jacket, which he found to fit him perfectly, even with the chitin armor on, he grabbed the spot of yellow near the bottom...  
  
...which immediately expanded into what looked like a wide-brimmed hat with an orange band where the brim and the hat itself connected. Though momentarily startled, he soon got over the shock and placed it on his head, surprised again by the perfect fit. Were these his?  
  
He soon turned around after hearing the sounds of a nearby door swinging wildly open with a bang and the sounds of footsteps following immediately afterwards to see a relatively-short person run through the door, dusting themselves off of all the snow. It wasn't until he spotted the purple-skinned long nose, however, that he realized that this was a servile under those robes instead of another human.  
  
The servile, Mehken, his brain foggily gave him, looked up upon seeing the yellow of his shoes before trying, and failing, to look up to his eyes with her own, a sigh of relief escaping her lips. "Come! Creations rogue. All. All creations rogue." Mehken turned in place before beginning to run out, stopping at the door to wave him forward. "Come. We control!"  
  
"...where...am...I?"  
  
Mehken stopped mid-spin before turning back towards him, a look of shock on her face before she quickly collected herself. "You not know?" Her response to this question was him shaking his head, to which she approached him before looking up towards him, standing on toes for a moment. "You here long time!" Shaking her head, she reached into her raised hood for a moment before lowering her hand and looking up at him. "Is Foundry. We take care of creations. Feed them when good. Punish when not."  
  
To this, she turned full around, though she looked over her shoulder back at him. "We go now. We do job. We pacify them." Instead of saying more, he found himself in whatever thought he could manage. "Come, Neos," he soon heard her call him while actually doubting that was really his name. "We have work to do."  
  
After a few seconds of what he thought to be her staring at him, Mehken soon walked back out into the cold, with him soon following behind, though she stopped Neos not long after leaving the building. "Stop." Mehken looked around the area before resting what he would guess to be her eyes under the hood on the shattered crystal nearby. "Something is coming. The calming pylon is smashed. Be ready."  
  
The faint sound of screaming soon entered his ears as Neos raised his head towards the sound. "Still nothing to say? Too cold to talk?" He heard Mehken talking, but he was trying and failing to focus on other things. "All right. As long as you know how to fight. Listen."  
  
For once, he had beaten her to the punch on this order.  
  
More serviles began running up towards their direction, followed soon after by what looked to him as swarms of green sliding and skittering towards them. "Come! Help them!"  
  
When Neos landed a hit, he would end the life of the strange bugs in one quick swing. However, not every one of his attempts at attacking connected, leaving the bugs alive for much longer than they were supposed to be. It was fortunate that none of the serviles wound up dead before all of the bugs could be eliminated.  
  
To this, Mehken sighed nearby while tending to one of the wounded serviles. "Not hard. Bugs are pests. Not good. Best dead." Seeing that the rest would be alright, he leaned up against one of the nearby walls before sliding down it, eager to get off his feet for a moment. "We save all. Good. I am glad." Neos was about to pass out right then and there until he felt a trio of taps on top of his head, prompting him to look up towards Mehken, whom was currently standing over him already. "We must move. Is cold. Rogues still loose."  
  
"Wait." With a bit of effort did Neos get back up onto his feet, fighting of the body's urge to shut down in the cold. "I...have...a question..."  
  
"Question?" He could see the confused look on her face from under the hood she always wore up. "You have surprises today. Creations change..." For a few moments, Mehken looked down the path she was about to continue going down before looking back up towards Neos. "You change too. What?"  
  
"Who...who am...? How did...I get...here?"  
  
While careful not to nick herself in the process, Mehken crossed her arms in front of herself as she thought of how to answer it. "Don't know. Only know you respond to 'Neos'. Mighty Shaper Rawal comes one day. Dumps you on us. Says you work with serviles. Says take care of you." At this point, she shook her head before uncrossing her arms when a bug tried to sneak up on her to only get screwed through her blade on the way down. "This years ago. You quiet. You work. Is all I know."  
  
After one answer, Neos raised his arms to either side of him, revealing more of the unusual outfit he was wearing. "Why am...I dressed...like...this?"  
  
Mehken only chuckled. "Those from what you wore when come here. Dressed strong like that calms rogues. Made you calm, too. Even necklace."  
  
At this point, Neos looked down towards his chest to see the blue glowing crystal hanging from the golden chain around his neck. He could almost see movement from within it, though he no longer remembered why, if he ever knew at all. "What should...should we...do now?"  
  
"Hunt rogues. Calm them. Kill if must." Then what looked to be almost a smile appeared from under Mehken's hood. "Then, if we good, we get reward. Big dinner! More sleep!" Mehken waved Neos forward before the two began to move ahead, though Mehken soon stopped him with a thoughtful look on her face. "You dressed up strong. You look good. Calm creations. You go first. I follow close."  
  
Neos could not help but feel extremely nervous as he trekked through the snow, the white usually reaching up between his knee and ankle on each step. It wasn't long before Mehken stopped him again, this time placing a hand on his high shoulder before moving into his view to point towards a building up ahead. "Was afraid of that. Thrasher is loose."  
  
Before Neos could even ask anything, a roar echoed throughout the nearby area. "Who's Thrasher? Is it anoth..." A wave of dizziness suddenly overwhelmed him, forcing him to double over onto himself and fall to his knees in pain. A cry of pain escaped his throat as what felt like a burning feeling began to consume him from the inside out without any chance to escape. Tears falling from his eyes from the uncontrollable pain, Neos soon saw that, strangely enough, his hands were on fire, but his hands weren't in pain. "Wha...what is happening to me?!"  
  
He was only barely able to stay awake, the adrenaline rush being the only thing keeping him conscious through the overwhelming sensations buffeting him form within. "This could be useful," Neos heard Mehken say to him. "Thrasher is terrified of fire. Direct some at it. You might calm the beast."  
  
A brief moment of thought crossed his mind, that Mehken was no longer talking like she was earlier, but he did not dwell upon it, not after seeing a large splotch of red shaped like a human much larger than himself rushing towards him. He tried to fling the fire around his hands towards the incoming beast, though it was on the third try that the flame left his hands and flew. The resulting Firebolt, as Mehken seemed to have called what he did, struck the towering being's fur, causing it to shriek and cower before Neos, who was only just shaking off the strange feeling from before. "What...the..."  
  
Shaking it off for the moment, Neos began walking forward once more with Mehken following soon afterwards. The name of a place, Minallah, echoed through his head for a moment, though the path that was supposed to lead to it was not clear to his eyes. Instead, he could see small scaly creatures roaming around in the mist nearby. To his surprise, Mehken stopped him and pulled his face down to her level, so she could look him in the eyes. "I see it. In your face." At this point, she let go of him, allowing Neos to stand up straight once more. "You are having another...attack. Be calm. Do not fight it."  
  
A second after she said that, Neos found himself doubled-over on his knees once more, the burning sensation threatening to overwhelm him once more. "Why...is this...happening...to me?"  
  
"I do not know. I do not know who you are or where you are from. I only want to help you control it so that you do not hurt anyone."  
  
"Then what should I do?!" He admittedly panicked as Neos wound up screaming his question, his forehead still on his knees for the moment.  
  
"I can't tell you. The power in you will decide. You...your hands!" Realizing that he could feel a certain amount of wiggling that he wasn't making, Neos brought out his hands into view and catching sight of glowing tendrils that appeared dim and insubstantial coming from them. The tendrils appeared to be twitching aimlessly, as if waiting for some sort of command from him, though he knew not what to do.  
  
And then, he started moving his hands in ways he had no understanding of, yet it felt...natural. Like breathing. A few minutes passed as a red, reptilian shape standing upon its hind legs began to emerge into formation in front of the pair.  
  
The poor twisted and twitchy thing looked sickly, its red skin covered in cracks that leaked of thin, red fluid that was only visible over its many green spots at various spots. A muted gasp escaped Mehken's mouth, and was caught by Neos' hearing. What made the moment even stranger was the fact that he somehow knew he could do better, but why?  
  
"This is not a surprise."  
  
Neos stood back up immediately, grabbing Mehken by both shoulders before lifting her off her feet to make her eyes level with his own and pinning her hard against a nearby wall while a bluish glow appeared through his anger-filled irises. "You _expected_ this?!"  
  
"We knew that you were unusual," Mehken stated in shock at the sudden event that had just transpired, the sudden pin affecting her speech. "We knew that Shaper Rawal kept you here for a reason. We knew from looking at you that you were different. That you had been touched by the arts of the Shapers."  
  
A full minute had passed in silence, Neos staring down Mehken as he held her against the wall against her will while the red bipedal lizard, the fyora, waited patiently for anything to happen.  
  
"Touched by the..." He should his head before finally letting Mehken go, whom rubbed her now-tender shoulders from the tight grip they had been in after dropping onto her feet. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Instead of answering his question, which annoyed Neos, Mehken simply shook her head. "The rogues are coming closer. We talk later. Be ready."  
  
The frail fyora followed after Mehken, stumbling along as it did. Neos tried to make a mental note to speak more of this as his mind started to clear before readying his dagger and trying to summon another Firebolt for future use, trying to practice control of the spell as he walked forward.  
  
The red beast lifted its head suddenly before moving towards what looked like a closed gate, another one weaving side to side in its place while appearing to be in pain. It was standing next to a post normally used to chain beings like this one to it, but it wasn't chained.  
  
Mehken knelt down to eye level with the fyora, studying it for a moment before speaking. "Not rogue. Will be soon. Might not need to kill. See if you can calm it."  
  
Not need to kill? Why would _anyone_ kill life so needlessly?  
  
Also kneeling down beside the shaky creature, though he was still a full head over it, Neos reached out towards it. Tentative at first, but with more confidence, he ran a gentle hand down its scaly neck as if petting it. The fyora looked up towards him, its blue eyes focusing as it did. Calmer now, it curled up into a ball before falling asleep, remaining next to the post while no longer in danger of losing control of itself.  
  
He had no idea how he was able to do that, to calm it so easily. Could he do that with anything, maybe?  
  
As he thought while moving forward, the sounds of hissing and skittering became heard, netting a groan from the servile. "Worms," she stated with an annoyed sigh. "Don't know why the Shapers kept them. Best squish them. No loss."  
  
He wasn't sure why Mehken was so eager to eliminate certain things without second thought, but he had no time to think about it as a whole swarm of creatures slithered up towards the trio of human, servile and fyora.  
  
The fyora was soon revealed to have its own way of using the Firebolt spell he was somehow able to use, but it left from the creature's mouth after inhaling and exhaling towards various worms as it tried to stay out of attacking ranges. Mehken got up close and personal with the large worms, slashing each of them in two to make quick work of them. Neos was doing a little of both, using Firebolt upon the ones that were away from him and slashing in two the ones that got close with his dagger.  
  
The pale-skinned human soon saw another shaking being, something that looked like a much-longer worm with very-tiny eyes and many fangs around its circular mouth. An Artila, his mind provided, though he knew not why he knew. Like with the fyora, Neos tried to approach the Artila in hopes of calming it, but with no warning did a globule of thick, green liquid suddenly got spat up by the creature.  
  
The only reason Neos wasn't hit point-blank in the face by it was the fact that Mehken pulled him out of the way in time. "It is rogue," Mehken shouted as it tried to fire off another green blob at it. "It is lost. No hope." It unleashed another loud hiss at them as the green liquid dripped from its mouth, smoke suddenly emerging from where it landed upon the ground as the stone below started to suddenly melt away little by little.  
  
Realizing that in its mouth was acid and that the Artila was using it against them, Neos gulped before managing to get at range of the peach-colored serpent and tossing several Firebolts, finally putting it out of its misery. "This is too much, now," he heard Mehken say before turning his head towards her, catching her shaking her head at the fallen creature. "We need to go. Get to Minallah."  
  
There was that strange name, though this time it wasn't just in his head. Neos instead plopped onto the floor, laying flat upon it as he felt a sudden wave of lethargy sweep over him. Closing his eyes tight, he leaned his hat forward to cover his face more with it, catching the sound of another groan from Mehken. "Fine, we rest here for moment." He heard a whine come from the sickly fyora that had been with him before feeling it trying to cuddle up to his side.  
  
As much as he wanted to due to the blood, he couldn't make himself shoo away the creature. And so, it laid next to him as Neos layed on his back among the snow, eyes closed for the moment even as the reptile's clear blood slowly leaked onto him.  
  
What got him back onto his feet and netting a pained whine from accidentally sending the fyora flying was a scream.  
  
A scream that sounded like a name, that sounded like it came from...  
  
With the poor fyora barely keeping up, Neos hauled it towards where he thought he heard the scream, seeing Mehken kneeling down next to another servile, though this one wasn't moving. At all. Though her back was to him, the human could see her shoulders moving slightly up and down while hearing what sounded to him like sobbing coming from her.  
  
Was it possible that this servile was dead? "...did you know him," Neos dared to ask, caution in his voice as he did. Her only response at first was seeing her nod her head, though she did not turn around. "I... I..." Neos looked towards the fyora, whom had moved behind him without his notice before pushing him forward towards Mehken with its nose. Giving a gulp while trying to think of what to do, Neos did the only thing he could think of.  
  
He knelt down beside her and gave Mehken a hug. The red lizard keeping an eye on the one entrance to the place he had ran into, Neos dared not to move as he kept his arms around her while she sobbed into his chest after turning around to face him. Several minutes passed and Neos was getting more and more nervous, as well as colder and colder during such time.  
  
"I... I sorry..." Mehken finally tried to stand up, finally gathering herself together. "It no matter," she stated sadly. "Just a dead servile. None will care." To this, she turned towards the exit to the small area they were in. "Come. We go to Minallah." As she walked out, Neos looked back towards the dead servile, studying it for a moment.  
  
Mehken cared, and if he knew whom it was, he would have probably cared as well...


	3. Forced to Obey

With care did the trio move on through the snow, evading more of the skittering green bugs from before as well as decent-sized yellow creature Mehken referred to as a roamer. While focusing on moving forward to someplace safer than where they were, Neos soon felt a disturbance in the air, a strange itch in the back of his mind. There was something nearby, he was sure of that much, but he wasn't sure of what it could be.  
  
"Wait," he soon heard from behind him before feeling a hand placed on his shoulder. "We are almost to Minallah."  
  
Neos realized that she wasn't talking like what he was used to hearing. "Before we are there, there is something I much say." Neos turned his head back towards Mehken, a look of confusion and curiosity on his face.  
  
"Wait, why are you not speaking like you usually do," he asked of her. He had not meant anything by it, but he found himself confused by the flinch she performed at the question. "I am taking a risk. If I will risk all, I will do it with dignity."  
  
Now he was completely confused. "What...is it," Neos asked of her, a blue eyebrow raised at her as he looked down at her, fully turning to face her.  
  
Mehken took a moment to look up towards the sky, as if thinking carefully of what to say next. "Shaper Rawal is the lord of the Foundry, a full member of the Shaper Council. He dumped you back here with the loyal serviles over two years ago. He said you were to be kept safe. Safe and dumb."  
  
Wait, what?  
  
"Sometimes, he sent someone to check on you. You were always safe. Always dumb. Nothing changed. You were left." Suddenly, Neos felt a bump under his hand, looking down to see the fyora rubbing its snout under his palm, as if wanting a petting. He couldn't help but smile at the lizard before giving it a proper petting on top of its head. "We thought it was odd," he heard Mehken continue after a few moments. "We have been watching you. Watching for the change too. It has happened."  
  
"We," Neos repeated before looking back up towards Mehken, still petting the cracked-skinned fyora on the snout. "You and who?"  
  
"You will learn," Mehken shortly responded. "If you do not betray us to Shaper Rawal. If you do not destroy us." Neos' hand stopped moving before looking back up towards Mehken, catching a serious look on her face. The fyora whined for attention, to which Neos continued petting though he kept his neon-green eyes on Mehken.  
  
"Do...do you know who I am," Neos asked hesitantly. "Or who he thought I was?"  
  
Mehken only sadly smiled at him. "A Shaper confiding in a servile? Never."  
  
Well, that idea was a bust.  
  
"What do you have to say, then," he finally asked, lowering his hand before wiping the clear off onto his purple pants for the time being and crossing his arms in front of himself.  
  
Mehken frowned, a sad gaze in her eyes. "You have power. Rawal will want it. The Shapers are desperate and terrified. They will offer all who can help them money and power and influence. Rawal will offer these things."  
  
Mehken once more looked up towards the snowy sky, a thoughtful look in her eyes. "Do not let greed take you. Remember there are other paths." The frown soon returned to her face before looking back at him. "It will be hard. Rawal controls you."  
  
"He controls me," Neos asked in confusion, a shocked tone trying to slide in. "How?"  
  
Looking towards the side for a moment, Mehken looked back towards Neos. "You will know soon," she spoke with a sad tone. "It is one thing I know about Rawal. And his ways." Though her movements were slow as to not alarm him, she lifted a hand before tapping the center of Neos' chest.  
  
It was then that he realized the sensation of numbness, of something not belonging there. Placing his own hand over the spot for the moment, he realized that the numbness was not from the cold. So, what was going on? "There is not time to say more," Mehken continued, recapturing Neos' attention for the moment. "Now we need to go. Get to Minallah. Safety and warmth. What do you say?"  
  
It was then that Neos realized that Mehken was actually carefully looking him over, as if hoping for something. But what? Confusion moving over his head, he brought a hand to his head, bringing it under his hat to scratch the top of it for the moment while wearing a sheepish look on his face. "I don't know what to think, honestly," he admitted. "Let's just go for now."  
  
Neos almost missed the look of what he could only describe as hopeful sorrow in her face at that response. He figured that he didn't give a response that Mehken had hoped for, but she still looked hopeful in an odd way. "Of course," she sighed. "You are still confused. That will not last." She took a few steps past Neos before looking back at him. "You have not met Rawal. I think you will soon. Now that you have changed." He really didn't know what she meant by 'changed', though he wished he did. "And you will see more of Shapers."  
  
She glanced towards the fyora, who gave a random chirp out of boredom, to which Mehken couldn't help but give it a sad smile for. "Now come. Let us find another thing they made. Another mad creation."  
  
With this did Mehken walk forward, requiring Neos and the fyora to rush forward for a few moments to catch up. Unfortunately, they soon found something between them and what looked like the exit for where they were.  
  
It floated in the air, unlike anything else Neos had seen recently. Brown tentacles waved about in various directions towards other creatures, a few of them familiar to him as well. This was a vlish, and that was bad news, as he began to oddly remember how such beings were made with powerful mental abilities. "That one. Just got here," Mehken muttered under her breath, taking full advantage of his hearing. "Hadn't tamed it yet. Rogue, I'm sure...and it's been busy."  
  
It was at this point that Neos looked at the other creatures around it, realizing that only the vlish was moving among them. He couldn't help but look back towards his little fyora, suddenly fearing for it before petting it on the head once more. He gulped to himself before gripping tightly the dagger in his hand, despite the shortness of the handle.  
  
As soon as the trio approached to try and pass it, an orb of energy whizzed passed Neos' head, clipping slightly the wide brim of his hat. "Eek," Neos allowed to escape from his mouth as he jumped back in shock, firing off at it a Firebolt in response.  
  
He had expected to fight against the vlish. He had not expected the sudden stab to the back from what looked like a bug similar to earlier, when this whole mess of a day started. Before he could respond, however, the fyora fired off a ball of flame of its own, instantly roasting the bug in one hit.  
  
A couple of more bugs, then a few more worms were sent after the trio as the vlish defended itself against them, controlling the other creations with its own power. It wasn't until an orb of fire flew past Neos that made him double-check his own fyora before realizing that the vlish had managed to get control of a different member of the fiery species. Uttering a muted word on instinct that he did not remember the meaning of, only knowing that it felt right to say such at the moment, Neos rushed forward to quickly end the controlled fyora's life with the dagger, the feeling of rage building at seeing such a sight in front of him.  
  
Why? Why do beings feel the need to control others so completely? It wasn't right!  
  
A growl leaving his throat, once the controlled fyora was quickly put down, Neos turned around with an almost-literal flame in his eyes. He was angry with what this thing was doing to others and wished to put it down before it could control anyone else anymore.  
  
However, he didn't get the chance. Instead, the air is split with a deafening roar, prompting Neos to spin around while expecting to see a new enemy approach them. The cacophony of sound resolved itself into a single voice, amplified somehow.  
  
"Enough of this chaos," the new voice shouted above all. "Step forward and present yourself, so that this minor scuffle can be resolved."  
  
The spot that Mehken pointed out earlier, the spot that felt strangely numb despite the cold, started to have a surge of pain emerge from it, almost landing him on his side immediately. Instead, for some reason, his body started walking on his own, as if in response to the voice.  
  
It was not a thought that Neos liked in the slightest as he as well as the fyora, the vlish and Mehken soon faced in the same way, towards a stone door that started to slide down into the ground, revealing a lone figure dressed in blue robes that completely covered the person's appearance for the time being. From what Neos could tell, this being did not look bothered by the cold at all.  
  
As the person, the Shaper in blue, shook his head at the sight in front of him, Neos' mind became clouded, prompting him to lean his head forward and take advantage of the brim to hide the fact that he had shut his eyes tightly closed for the moment. "I absorb you," he heard bellowed before hearing a screech behind him, from the direction of the vlish. While he didn't get to turn his head, he did manage to glance towards where the vlish once was, now seeing a puddle of red where it had been.  
  
This Shaper had killed it! Without even a single thought despite the fact that it had stopped fighting!  
  
"So, you have been Shaped," Neos heard before forcing himself to look up, seeing dark-green eyes looking directly at the fyora that had been by his side. "You do have innate powers. Interesting. As I suspected. But what...?" The stranger soon lifted a gloved hand, also of the same color as his robes, pointing towards the fyora. "What is that thing? You are far from regaining a proper level of control."  
  
Neos saw the newcomer wave one hand in a particular fashion in the air before pointing back towards the fyora, which netted a screech from it as it suddenly melted in place from the inside out, killing it quickly. He had turned to see this just in time, causing his dark-green pupils to shrink in shock as his eyes widened.  
  
Neos wanted to yell at this jerk, to set his outfit ablaze among other things. But, for some reason, he could barely move. He was barely able to look back up towards the stranger as the person in blue glanced towards the servile. "You... You are... Mehkon? Mikkey?" Shaking his head, he waved his hand in the air, but it was a typical wave instead of the same one used to end the life of his short-lived friend. "No matter. Proceed to Minallah and rest. Then report for your next orders. There is still an extensive mess that needs to be cleaned." At this point, the stranger turned to face him, though he uttered one more word towards her. "Go."  
  
He caught the look Mehken tried to give him, a completely neutral look that tried not to betray anything about her, before walking off towards the town without a word. But, the stranger wasn't watching her.  
  
The stranger was watching Neos intently, walking forward towards him to study him closely, despite being a full foot taller than the blue person. "Now then. Let's see how much you have changed." From this close, he could tell that the robed figure was definitely male. Suddenly, Neos felt a gloved hand grab his chin before making him face the man, causing neon-green eyes to meet with dark-green ones. "Do you know who I am? Do you remember, or is your mind still too muddled?" Neos couldn't help but narrow his eyes, trying to remember any one that looked similar to what he was looking at, but nothing came to mind. "I can see from your vacant expression that it is the second case."  
  
His mind was not vacant, thank you very much.  
  
The figure let go of his chin, which Neos rubbed with a free hand as the robed man took a step back, looking him over. "I am Shaper Rawal, master of the Foundary and full member of the Shaper Council. I am the master here."  
  
Oh, this was the person Mehken warned him about.  
  
"Now that your unusual nature is starting to assert itself, I am eager to explore your capabilities and see how you can best be useful." For a moment, Rawal looked to the side as if in thought before looking back at him. "It is unfortunate that some entity is disrupting all of my creations, but I think you can help."  
  
...disrupting?  
  
"Disrupting? Wasn't that vlish the one trying to take control here," Neos asked of Rawal, feeling as if he was forced to bite back the rage for his careless ending of life displayed earlier.  
  
To this, Rawal laughed dryly at him. "Don't try to think until your mind further returns. Otherwise, you will waste time and effort." Placing a hand on a hip, Rawal glanced towards where the vlish used to be before looking at Neos again. "The vlish was a negligible non-entity. The current disruptions are caused by something much more mysterious and powerful. But we can discuss this later."  
  
As if he would do so, instead eager to spit in this guy's face until a thought crossed his mind.  
  
What if he knew who he was?  
  
Once the question was thought, he asked point blank if Rawal knew whom he was, though the initial response was a sly smile. "I do. However, I do not see any need to upset you with too much information too early."  
  
More like this guy didn't want to share just yet. "When I think it will increase your efficiency to know more about yourself, you can trust that I will let you know."  
  
"...you want my help," Neos stated instead of asked, almost thinking that he knew what would be said.  
  
"I am a full Shaper of the Council. You are not. I command your help."  
  
Right in one.  
  
Crossing his arms in front of himself, Rawal glanced over Neos, studying him as he stood still, though Neos had no idea why he hadn't slammed a fist into this guy's face yet. "I need more quality agents in my employ. First, I need to explore your abilities, and I have a very good idea for how to do this."  
  
Turning around, Rawal began to take a few steps towards the way he had come from, looking back towards Neos after doing so. "First, we should return to my tower. It is warmer and more conductive to analytical thought."  
  
"Why don't you go **fuck off** ," Neos managed to belt out with both an acidic tone and a loud growl in his voice. "I will not obey a murderer!" Neos' eyes were glowing slightly as the power within tried to surge forward.  
  
Rawal only nodded before turning back towards him fully. "Excellent. The demonstration can commence."  
  
Demon---?!  
  
The same point that Mehken pointed out earlier suddenly became filled with a stabbing pain that quickly overwhelmed him, causing him to land on his side and curl up into himself as the feeling of red hot steel started burrowing into his chest, even though no such metal was near him. After a few moments of gagging from difficulty breathing among other things, Neos managed to get up from off the icy stone below him before pulling the front of his black shirt a few inches away and looking down at his bare chest.  
  
There was a fleshy bump, roughly an inch across that appeared to be pulsing slightly. After a few moments, it stopped and faded back under his skin, as if it was never there to begin with. Neos placed a hand under his shirt to feel the skin, to feel if there were any breaks. He felt none on him. A look of horror on his face, Neos looked up to see the smirk on Rawal's face. "What did you do to me?!"  
  
"It's called a control tool," the Shaper started to say. "A variety of living tool of my own invention. Instead of going into a machine..." Rawal glanced towards the middle of Neos' chest. "It goes into your chest. Deep inside. With a command, I can have it tear your heart open."  
  
If Rawal took notice of Neos' shudder, he made no mention or motion that indicated such. "You cannot defy me, but you can earn great rewards. Wealth and power. I will be waiting for you with your new orders in Isenwood's Spire. I will instruct a servile to lead you to me. Proceed to Minallah. That is all for now."  
  
Without another word did Rawal turn back towards where he had been heading, leaving Neos alone in the cold...


	4. Cold Shoulder

The trip to Minallah was lonely and cold. The only reason he hadn't lost his way was due to the high stone walls to either side of him that opened up to no other direction during his walk. As much as he wanted to shiver from the prolonged exposure, he knew he couldn't stop.  
  
Every time he tried, the control tool in his chest would try to come to the front and repeat its earlier performance. Fortunately for him, especially with his long legs, his walk was thankfully short and the city carved into the stone of the earth entered his view.  
  
As well as a natural-made tower of stone just a little further off, which he guessed to be the Isenwood's Spire that Rawal mentioned. The cursed device in his chest began to slightly pull in that direction, not enough to hurt, but just enough to cause discomfort. Gritting his teeth, Neos began to walk towards the towering spire, though a duet of shouting nearby drew his attention.  
  
Looking towards the source of voices, he saw two people shouting at each other with a roamer between them that was drooling and twitching with its head snapping from side to side.  
  
It was almost rogue.  
  
Ignoring the discomfort for as long as he could manage, yellow-tinted human calmly walked towards the pair, whom were to engrossed in shouting at each other to notice him.  
  
"Did you not hear me," the woman of the pair questioned with the tone of authority in her voice as she stared ahead with steel-grey eyes from under short black hair. "I am Agent Alurha. And I am not merely an Agent. I am an envoy of the Council. I say this creature is rogue. Only one thing is done with rogues."  
  
The other, a soldier completely covered in armor while holding the chain around the roamer's neck, shook his head towards her. "I work for Shaper Tanethin. His order is that this is a unique and potentially valuable specimen. It is to be kept alive. On a Shaper's authority."  
  
Neos had to give the soldier, whom sounded male under the helmet, credit for not immediately dropping to his knees in fear as the feeling of energy began to suddenly build up around them, even when he went to kick the roamer in the head after it tried to snap at him. "You question me? You? An outsider? I don't care what your Shaper said. I am here. I decide what will happen. And I say that rogues are destroyed."  
  
At this point, he couldn't just let the roamer be left to whatever fate awaited it. And so, despite wanting to scream from the pain that was building up within, Neos walked towards them, the roamer still acting as it did, but drawing the attention of the humans. "Maybe I can help?"  
  
The effect was instant, even the roamer lifted its head towards him as they all showed their surprise in their own ways.  
  
"How can someone like you help," Agent Alurha spat at him. "I can clearly see you are no Shaper!"  
  
"Wait, aren't you that human that's been living with the serviles up there," the soldier asked in confusion, to which Neos stayed silent towards. He didn't need to respond, however, before the soldier turned towards the Agent with a begging tone in his voice. "Please, let him try to calm it before trying to kill it! I've seen him calm many others before!"  
  
The Agent's gaze did not leave the blue-haired human, though she kept a sword ready to behead the twitching roamer. "Alright, I'll allow you to try and prove me wrong. Let's see if someone so low as to live with creations can do anything."  
  
Neos bit his tongue, drawing a small amount of blood before turning towards the soldier. "Just why is this roamer so special?"  
  
"Your trying my already limited patience," Agent Alurha remarked with a strained tone, to which Neos took advantage of the fact that the back of his head was turned to her to roll his eyes up towards the sky.  
  
The soldier pointed towards the shaky creature. "Look closely."  
  
"Are you nuts," was the response he got from both of them when he knelt down next to the roamer, clearly in range for him to be suddenly attacked and brutally harmed. From this close, he could see the skin of the yellow glowing with a pale hue. The soldier coughed before continuing with a nervous shake to his voice. "It's a new design, to guide and hunt in mines and caves. People can see it in the dark." Neos heard a pause before he continued. "Shaper Tanethin sent it to the Foundry to be tested."  
  
To this he heard a snort from the Agent looming over him. "Until it goes mad and kills them," she added with acid in her voice.  
  
Neos took a moment to close his eyes and collect himself, to recall how he calmed down the Fyora from earlier while taking great care not to recall the end forced upon the one he had created himself in the process. Opening his eyes, he extended his hand towards the roamer, trying to send out the wish for it to calm down.  
  
The effect of whatever he really did seemed almost instant. It soon stopped drooling and twitching, calming down as it allowed Neos to pet it on the head. Whatever had affected it seemed to have been undone by his action, its eyes refocusing and it appearing to stop twitching at random.  
  
A sigh of relief escaped the armored man. "Thank you," he spoke with gratefulness. "I will take this creation to the Promenade and check it in." He then looked up towards the Agent. "With your permission," he stated with a grin evident on his voice.  
  
Agent Alurha simply about-faced in her spot before walking away and spouting out many words under her breath that he didn't understand. Though the tone was quite clear that she was more angered than anything else about being proven wrong. To this, Neos took advantage of the fact that her back was turned towards him to flip the middle finger towards her direction, to which he felt a metallic hand suddenly placed on his shoulder. "You might not want to do that," the armored soldier advised. "Shapers in general are never ones you should make angry at you."  
  
With this, the soldier pulled the chain to the roamer to get it to follow after him, the pair disappearing towards the path he just walked from.  
  
Despite the fact that Rawal had practically ordered him to head for the spire, he decided to first wander through this little town. This turned out to be a bad idea at first. The first place he wandered into appeared to be just an area for things that needed to be stored outside, though he wasn't exactly sure what. A roar sounded nearby, and Neos turned his head towards it.  
  
The large and brown humanoids ran at him, nothing covering them other than apparently a loincloth and large fists ready bash him into paste. Thahds, his mind provided. Panicked by the sudden attack, he tried flinging fire at the trio rushing at him, but they were quick to surround him.  
  
And he was relatively pinned to the wall, managing to endure by some unknown miracle the onslaught of fists he was being struck at with. He was fighting for his life and he was all alone. This thought alone frightened him. He wasn't sure how, but this thought seemed to have triggered a sudden surge of wellness within and most of the wounds dealt seemed to have undone themselves. This healing surge seemed to crop up from within when it felt like he would die in the next set of swings, but he soon learn that he could not use the Firebolt spell at the same time as the surge. Did they come from the same source?  
  
Shaken by the sudden ordeal, and hoping to find someone that could help him out before he had to deal with Rawal, he wandered through the town more. Eventually, he found a building that seemed filled with various people that seemed covered in metal. Hoping to get some aid with some of the still-bleeding wounds he had, he carefully began to approach them.  
  
He was soon stopped by someone with more form-fitting armor than usual, revealing her as a woman with the general curves being where they were before he rather-gracelessly wound up tripping and falling on top of her.  
  
"Ack! Sorry," Neos said quickly, scrambling to get off as quickly as he could, finding himself on his rump instead as she stood up to her full height, towering him for the moment. She had a hand on the handle of her weapon, ready to draw it, but a couple of tense seconds passed before she removed it and the stern look on her face slightly softened.  
  
"Ah," she mused. "The awakened one. Rawal was in here not that long ago. Told me a bit about you. And personally." At this point, she offered her hand towards Neos, whom sheepishly accepted it before pulling himself up onto his feet. "You must be an interesting specimen if he was willing to put that much effort into you. Certainly wasn't lying about being able to see you from a mile away, either."  
  
Specimen.  
  
Neos thought his ears would burn right off at that word, and he certainly felt a surge of anger trying to cheapshot him. However, he managed to keep himself calm long enough to avoid it being noticed before she took back her hand to allow it to rest by her side. "I am Captain Valenta, formerly of the Mera-Tev, and now the commander of the garrison here."  
  
Garrison? What's that?  
  
Before she could continue, Neos looked towards her from glancing around his immediate surroundings, realizing that he had followed her into the building. "Can I find out more about this place?"  
  
Valenta clicked her tongue before shaking her head. "Rawal was clear on this. No giving you info, or much else for that matter, until he has evaluated you in person." To this, she pointed in the general direction of the annoying spire. "Isenwood's Spire is over in that direction. Talk to the Shaper and I may be able to help you...assuming you still live."  
  
Neos narrowed his bright eyes at her. "Can't you bend the rules? Even a little?" The immediate reaction was a chuckle.  
  
"Think like that and you edge a little closer to rebellion and certain death." At this point, she sat behind a nearby desk, removing her helmet to reveal short brown hair and steel-grey eyes before placing it on the desk and reaching for one of the nearby sheets with lines of black going across it in odd shapes. "I'm an outsider, not a Shaper. That means I do what the Shapers say to do."  
  
Quill now in hand, she points back towards the spire's direction once more. "See Rawal, then we'll talk, cub."  
  
This had Neos slamming his hands against the desk, immediately followed by a sword dangerously close to his throat. Despite this, he was still glaring at the one holding the blade, which was Valenta after quickly standing back up, in defiance. "That's not a good way to make friends, cub."  
  
"My name is Neos, dammit."  
  
Valenta held her blade in place, grey and green staring at one another before she finally lowered it away from his neck with a slightly-raised eyebrow. "Neos, hm? I shall keep that in mind, but remember this. Not everyone knows whom you are. If you blow your fuse at everyone that decides to use a temporary nickname before learning your name, you will die rather quickly. Probably rather painfully, too."  
  
Without even acting as if she had come close to killing someone, she simply sat back down, completely ignoring the odd-looking human for the time being. None of the other areas of the town were willing to really give him the time of day before seeing Rawal, either. Letting loose an annoying growl into the air after the fourth time being turned down, he threw his hands up into the air in surrender and finally started walking towards the stone spire.  
  
Just to get it out of the way. Maybe Rawal would throw him out on his ear in the cold to fend for himself, he didn't know.  
  
He had to keep his calm as a seemingly-random servile approached him from the place, barely looking up towards anyone. He was shivering a lot, far more than the serviles he had been used to being around. "I Gevik," he started to say, slowly and awkwardly, almost as if unused to speech. "Shaper call. I take. Follow Gevik."  
  
Neos had been expected to be turned around at the door, not this. Only after the servile turned his back and almost bolted back into the stone tower did Neos narrow his eyes at him before taking his time in following, doing his best to ignore the twitching in his chest as he did.


	5. Open Mouth, Insert Head

Neos was keeping his mouth shut and his hands in the pockets of his pants as he stewed in his aggravation while following the servile ahead of him, Gevik. He kept his gaze at the flooring under Gevik's feet as he walked, the tiling showing the signs of use by countless travelers, their coloration somewhat faded and occasionally scuffed.  
  
He wanted to kick himself for the moment of security and calmness he felt almost instinctively upon entering the spire, despite it belonging to someone he viewed as a murderer. When he dared to glance to either side of him, he could see the sturdy stone walls to either side of him, decorated sparsely from what he could see.  
  
As he walked, he began to hear a faint humming sound, prompting him to lift his head towards what he thought to be the source. It was then he noticed the lines of faintly-glowing blue crystal on the flooring near the walls, which he traced with his eyes to at least one group of creations kept calm as they stood in place.  
  
It reminded him of the Calming Pylons...when they weren't shattered to tiny bits.  
  
"Stop!"  
  
The seemingly-random shout stopped him in his steps, wincing as his head turned towards where it came from. From under the bangs of his blue hair and the rim of his hat, he could see a relatively-young man with a wand of bone tipped with a sickly-green jewel in one hand and a long, metal implement in the other. The sight of the wand, a discipline wand, made him queasy for a second before daring to approach the man in red.  
  
It was when he was closer that he spotted a brown humanoid similar to the ones that almost beat the life out of him earlier, a thahd.  
  
For a couple of moments at a time, he would see the man move over to a nearby desk covered with various alchemic instruments to write something down before moving quickly back towards the thahd, keeping it on the circle of yellow stone underneath it. With a gulp to swallow his sudden feeling of illness before clearing his throat, Neos managed to catch the attention of the short-haired man, brown meeting green.  
  
"Ah, the unusual case," he started to say, revealing an unusually high voice for a male. "Welcome to my workshop. I am..." Neos wasn't willing to say anything about the thahd trying to wander away as long as it didn't make a swing towards anything, but the instinctive shift of his gaze from the human in front of him towards the thahd's movement had caused the man in robes to also see the creation trying to wander off. Because of this, the human raised the metal implement before lightly smacking it on the side of the leg. "Stay! Wait!"  
  
Neos flashed it a look of apology while the man had his back to him as the thahd sullenly moved back onto the platform. "Fidgety things," he heard muttered before the man turned back towards him. "As I was saying, I am Sage Fefer. Shaper Rawal has ordered for me to train and assist you."  
  
"You...can help me," Neos dared to ask, hearing the hanging 'and' at the end of Fefer's statement as he wound up thinking on the thing in his chest. At this point, the sage crossed his arms in front of himself, the implement and wand still in his hands.  
  
"And request help from you, if needed."  
  
Oh, he already had a feeling he knew where this was heading.  
  
"And I should have been clearer," he stated before quickly turning back towards the thahd in precaution, whom was midstep in trying to get away. "Stay..." A grumble escaped the creation before returning its foot back to its place. Giving a nod, Fefer turned back towards Neos to continue. "I can help you when Shaper Rawal says that it is alright."  
  
Neos let out a loud roar of aggravation suddenly at these words. "I've been hearing that from just about everyone in this mindless town," he bellowed at the top of his lungs towards the ceiling. He didn't care that he was starting to develop an audience behind him, nor did he dare to turn even once towards them. "Is no one here capable of thinking for themselves or does this Rawal wipe your rear ends, too?!"  
  
The next thing he knew, he felt something connect to the back of his head hard and his world went suddenly black and momentarily filled with stars...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The feeling of cold touching his mind suddenly jolted Neos awake and into a sitting positon at the edge of what looked like a thinly-padded cot. He was instantly drenched with sweat before feeling the sensation of a sudden recoil leave him after suddenly feeling himself become even further chilled from within.  
  
He would have thought it caused by the damned thing in his chest if it wasn't for the fact that he felt the cold in his head.  
  
There was very little in the room he was in other than an empty desk to the right with a wooden chair made with armrests. A thudding feeling soon made itself known in the back of his head before he started to gingerly rub himself in the same spot as he leaned his head forward slightly. "Ow, what hit me," he groaned before realizing that his hat was gone from the top of his head.  
  
Nor anywhere else in the room for that matter.  
  
"You have one hell of a hard head," he heard a feminine voice say before daring to lift his head to see a large armored figure. Almost exactly like the soldiers out in the town, but the metal seemed a bit thicker and more sturdy actually. The armored figured lifted the helmet off to reveal a blonde-haired woman whom held up her hair in a tight bun, a few scars going across her face from past fights. "I should have hit you with a hammer instead of my arm."  
  
Neos blinked for a second and opened his mouth to answer a question before a scream of panic broke out suddenly, followed by a gutteral roar and a sickening crunch ending the scream. Instead of doing what he wanted to do, he bolted past the woman towards the general direction that the scream came from.  
  
He found himself running closer towards where that Fefer's laboratory had been, finding the man surrounded by a quartet of thahds that were slowly closing in on him. "Back, back away," Fefer belted out, the discipline wand in hand and in front of him ready for use.  
  
"Get off him," Neos belted out towards the thahds as he tried to focus on sending a calming feeling towards them, much like with the fyora and roamer from earlier. Instead, he was almost met with a sudden large fist to his face as he leaned away from a wild swing from one of the thahds. A sudden sidestep to one side allowed him to cause one thahd to deck the one that almost struck him first, causing the two to fight each other.  
  
Unfortunately, he wasn't out in the clear as he found his arms hooked together from behind before feeling something connect to his head, a thahd headbutting him from behind as another came in front of him to punch him hard in the gut.  
  
After the first connected and winded him for a second, when the last thahd tried to pull back for a second swing, Neos lifted up his feet to plant both of them in the swinging thahd's face. It was sent flying towards the two that were fighting each other, toppling the trio and causing them to start fighting amongst themselves.  
  
For now, that left him with one that had his hands held behind him. Well, he had a way to deal with that. Closing his eyes while trying to ignore the pain from behind him, he felt his hands become surrounded with flickering warmth that rapidly increased in temperature.  
  
It was enough to cause the thahd to let go in sudden fear. Unfortunately, this was also the point that Neos realized, once he tried to reach for it, that his dagger was also missing. Which meant that he would have to deal with these creations bare-handed, or so he thought. Fists raised in front of him to get ready to throw a few of his own swings, the thahd suddenly screamed before melting in front of him, revealing Fefer behind it.  
  
"What the..." Neos couldn't finish his question fast enough before the discipline staff that had been aimed at the melted thahd became aimed at the other three, globules of green acid flying towards them and melting all of them. "What was that for?!" Upon this outburst, Neos stood up to his full height over Fefer, making the man feel even shorter than the foot difference in height already did. "I could have had them knocked out!"  
  
"The moment they made a swing towards a human, their fate was sealed." He turned to face the same woman that admitted to clobbering him earlier, broadsword on her back though ready to be used at any moment. "They had gone rogue and any Shaper would have ordered for their execution."  
  
Neos was trying to keep his calm as the woman stetched out her hand for a shake. "I don't believe we have been properly introduced. My name is Guardian Manola, and I can help you out with training once you've seen Shaper Rawal."  
  
And he began to growl under his breath. "I don't see why you all blindly follow the words of a freaking murderer," he spoke, halfway-growling as he did. "He doesn't give two twits about what you think and yet you all do what he wishes of him? Why?!" Upon the last word did he throw out his hands to the air in aggravation. "And where in blazes is my hat!"  
  
"I'd be careful what you say here, child," Manola stated before producing from a pouch on her belt the familiar flash of yellow. "There are things far more important than your hat to worry about, mainly your life."  
  
Neos swiped the hat out of her grip without a second thought before placing it back on his head, glad to have the familiar hardened cloth back where it was supposed to be. "In regards to Rawal, I don't even bother to care less about him," he grumbled under his breath before hearing the sound of a foot tapping against the stone. His eyes found themselves looking towards the source, the servile he had been following before being knocked out.  
  
"Gevik lead. Bring to Shaper," he simply stated, to which Manola gave a muted chuckle before playfully patting Neos on the head, despite the top of his head almost being out of reach.  
  
With a sigh did he follow after the obedient servile, not looking forward at all to when he would have to approach Rawal once more. And into his view, Rawal did eventually enter, sitting upon what looked to him like a throne while looking over a variety of paperwork. Every so often, the Shaper would look away from the paperwork towards the non-human entities around him with a critical eye. On one of these flicks of view did Rawal spot Neos, sending the brightly-dressed man a glare. "Finally here," he asked. "Come, I expect greater speed from my underlings...and more sanity."  
  
Neos had stopped in front of Rawal at the last bit, a raised eyebrow joining the rest of his confused expression. "Excuse me? Sanity?"  
  
Like before, Rawal looked up with dark-green eyes towards Neos, though they stayed narrowed at him. "Not many whom maintain any real level of sanity dare to question my rightful power in my own place."  
  
"But," he soon said with a much differing tone in his voice. "it would be best to get the preliminaries out of the way." To this, he stood up, and the throne raising Rawal's height to better match Neos' allowed him to see that Rawal was actually fairly old, or at least far overdue for a shave. "I am Shaper Rawal, Member of the Shaper Council, One of the Seven. I enl---"  
  
"You can take your enlistment and shove it up your own ass."  
  
The place suddenly fell silent around the pair at Neos' words, as if all but he knew what would soon happen. However, Rawal seemed to just laugh at this. "Knowing what you know, you still show such spirit. Even knowing my tiny creation has a narrow tendril extending directly into your heart. Here, it is of no use, but elsewhere it may be what saves you." With a flick of the wrist did one hand move towards the blue-haired man's chest, prompting Neos to involuntarily jump back in a flinch reaction. He couldn't help but mentally scold himself as he heard Rawal laugh again. "Your body is wiser than you, it would seem."  
  
Neos soon found himself feeling a hand under his chin before being forcibly lifted, finding himself looking down at Rawal, whom had moved off his throne. "My command tool is there. It is a fact and it cannot be removed. You will earn great rewards for your service to me, but there is no escape." With a flick of his wrist, Neos found his head being snapped to one side for a moment before seeing him walk back to and sit upon his throne. "Now, we can address the next bit of business."  
  
"...the blazes do you want," Neos growled as he stood back up to full height, resistance still obvious in his statue, though Shaper Rawal made no motion towards it.  
  
"I do indeed have a task for you, but I need to explore your capabilites to see how you can best serve me." Rawal leveled a glare at Neos upon the growl that left him before continuing. "Before I do, however, I need to see if you are in need of assistance for the time being." WIth this did he leaf through a few more sheets of paper with writing on it, as if looking for something. "Ah, here. You were guided to Minallah by a servile named Mehken. I have checked my records and she has indeed worked here capably for some years. However," Rawal flicked his gaze back up in time to catch the guarded look on Neos' face. "she shows far more intelligence and independence than I am comfortable with my serviles---"  
  
"---with anyone," Neos automatically corrected, to which Rawal leveled the paperwork on his lap and glared at him.  
  
"This is not amusing," Rawal stated, which Neos responded with an innocent grin.  
  
"I don't know what you're mad about, I'm just making sure your statements are correct," was the remark made in a far-higher pitch than normal as he failed to keep the smirk off his face shrugging his shoulders as he spoke.  
  
"Go to your room," Rawal demanded as he pointed in the direction Neos came from, which caused Neos to feel the now-familiar twitch in his chest. "Go there and stay until you are willing to behave."  
  
Though not how he wanted to get out of there, Neos wasn't going to turn down an excuse to get away from Rawal without having to do anything. And as he left, he brought both hands behind himself to flip Rawal off with a pair of upright middle fingers just before he stumbled a bit from the sudden momentary spike of pain in his chest once more.


	6. If Only For Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, at this point, anyone that may be reading this would have noticed that I've added a tag. Specifically 'Mod Inclusion during Gameplay'. This means that the game I'm transcribing from now has an active mod in it. I will not say what the mod is, because it would cause massive spoilers for the tale, but I will say that things are gonna get interesting and quick.
> 
> However, to play with the mod, I had to redo my game as a Lifecrafter instead of an Infiltrator, despite the fact that I will be writing him out as the latter. Because of this, don't be surprised if you see a blending of fighting styles for the main character. Fear not, I has a scheme for this.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The door was slammed behind him as Neos found himself walking back into the same room he woke from, the smell of bread wafting to his nose to cause his stomach to growl from hunger.  
  
"Damn, I haven't eaten yet, have I," he muttered to himself as he turned around.  
  
But no matter how hard he tried to do so, he could not make himself move at all past the entrance of the door. "This isn't..." Neos tried to bring an arm up and through the entrance of the door, but the moment he brought though the opening even a small portion of a finger, his heart started spiking up in pain before falling backwards into the room to make it stop. "I....I can't..."  
  
"Shaper Rawal shows his wisdom once more when he decreed that a control tool should be implanted in you." At the sound of the voice, Neos immediately stood up to full height, finding himself looking down at a rather-short person in blue Shaper robes. Unlike with Rawal, Neos could smell fear coming from the fidgety person, though the little man stayed just out of reach for the moment by being just beyond the door.  
  
"...the blazes are you," was the question asked of the visitor, to which the first response was to shift from one foot to the others. "And when I can I get some food?"  
  
"When you are willing to cooperate. Until then, Shaper Rawal has decreed that, until you come out of there, you will only get food and water once every three days."  
  
**"What?!"** The outburst caused the smaller man to actually jump back a step, though Neos wasn't in the mindset to notice. "Are you telling he plans on actually _starving me?"_  
  
"You're starving yourself, really," the little man remarked before taking a step back and pulling back the hood to reveal an appearance contrary to the fidgety person Neos had been seeing. The lack of hood revealed blonde hair held back in a low braided ponytail and dark-blue eyes purposely kept from meeting neon-green. "If you weren't so resistant, you wouldn't be in this situation right now."  
  
The only response to that was Neos turning around, walking over towards the thinly-padded bedding and plopping onto it unceremoniously. His stomach growled once more as the smell of garlic and bread increased in strength, pulling a tiny whine out of him before flipping to his side to face away from the Shaper in his room. "If you have no further business, then bugger off," Neos snarled, his face grimacing as another wave of pain filled him from the hunger.  
  
If the kitchen was as close as it smelled to him,  then this was going to be a _long_ three days.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Neos, wake up."  
  
He could feel someone shaking him in his sleep, and so he opened his eyes towards the black sky peeking through a barred window above his head. Moaning something unintelligible, his nose picked up on the smell of warm bread wafting incredibly close to his nose. So close, in fact...  
  
Rolling over onto his other side, Neos soon saw a familiar hooded form standing over him, holding up what looked like a large plate of pasta with red sauce topping and sprinkled cheese that had a couple of slices by it of what smelled to him of garlic bread. A growl emerged from his stomach as he groggily sat up, trying to focus his eyes on the being in front of him.  
  
"...Meh---"  
  
"Shh." The figure placed the plate on the flat bedding next to the sleepy human, placing a fork near it. "You should play along for now."  
  
"What, with the Rawal asshole?" Upon seeing the hooded form nod, Neos couldn't help but shake his head in disgust. "I'm not doing anything for that assho---"  
  
"And yet, if you do not, not only will you never leave this place, you may never be able to find a way to become free from him." To this, Neos opened his mouth to argue, but soon closed it to think. This being did have a good point, but how would he find such a thing? Did this figure know? "And I would suggest eating fast. I'm taking a risk doing this."  
  
Sighing through his nose, Neos began to stuff his face with the food, quietly melting in place upon the first bite reaching his tongue from not eating in a couple of days. As he ate, he glanced up to see the hooded form cautiously watching and listening for anyone that made come. "Why are you helping me," he finally asked after several bitefuls of pasta and bread. "What do you know about me?"  
  
More silence passed between the two as Neos ate, watching his company for a response. The only response given was the figure lowering their head before turning slightly towards him. "Rawal hides knowledge behind danger," was the only phrase spoken before the being quietly took the plate and utensils from Neos after finishing and vanishing into the night.  
  
"...this...is going to be somehow horrible," he grumbled before laying back down and trying to return to sleep. At least having something in his stomach helped to quell the pain he had been dealing with.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The next morning, Neos found himself tossing and turning while he slept, gripping the bangs on his head with one of his hands as it felt like something was pounding from within his skull. He soon sat up in the bed, letting go of his hair so that he could cover his face with both hands.  
  
"Ow...why am I hurting so much," he asked himself, elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. "I didn't get hit again, did I...?" Wincing as another wave of pain flooded his head, Neos opened his eyes and let out a yelp before moving his palms away from his face.  
  
The same glowing tendrils were visible from his hands, just like the ones that appeared before creating the fyora that met its unfortunate end before he could find some way to help it. The sight of them had Neos breathing faster and faster, a panic beginning to come over him. Was his body trying to create something else this time?  
  
But before he could really figure out what was happening, the tendrils faded back into his hands, which prompted him to bring his hands closer to his face so he could better see. However, there seemed to be no traces of the strange tendrils left, even after bringing his hands close enough to touch his nose with his palms. "What was that about...?"  
  
Knowing he wasn't going to get an answer from just sitting there, Neos stood up onto his feet before remembering the night before, both the meal given as well as the advice. "...fuck it," he muttered under his breath before taking a deep breath before approaching the door of the room he had been trapped in the past few days.  
  
Miraculously, he was able to leave the room, though the thing in his chest pulled him back towards where he last saw Rawal. A growl leaving his throat, he huffed before heading towards the general direction, his step heavier than usual as his feet hit the ground hard each time.  
  
"Glad to see you're finally out," he heard before turning towards the source, a tiny smirk emerging upon seeing Guardian Manola. "How's your head holding up?"  
  
"If that really was your arm, you've got quite the whack," he responded, stopping for the moment to talk with her. "I'd hate to be the one you clothesline on the battlefield."  
  
A laugh left Manola as she leaned back, silver armor shimmering in the light of the many candles around them. "Thank you for the compliment, though flattery will get you nowhere with me." A frown suddenly appeared on her face as she looked back towards him. "If you're out here, then you're heading to meet with Shaper Rawal, yes?"  
  
A low snarl almost instinctively escaped from his throat as he looked down and away from her on the question. "...only because I have to," he growled as he spoke, to which he caught sight of her crossing her arms in front of her.  
  
"I would advise you at least hold your tongue around Shaper Rawal and take that aggression out on those he would have you end," Manola stated, clicking her tongue once before she began to speak. Looking towards the direction Neos had been heading to, she shook her head slightly before turning back towards him. "I would get going if I were you. Keep in mind what I said, though."  
  
Neos watched as she left him to return to her area of training, where she seemed to be working with a relatively-young soldier.  
  
He figured it was a good time to get gone after Manola wound up sending the student's blade flying and unintentionally towards him, forcing him to duck to avoid being beheaded.  
  
"So, you finally decide to rejoin us," Neos heard upon entering the room and walking up so that he was standing in front of Rawal, though not close enough to snap the man's neck in his hands. "Are you willing to cooperate this time, or must I rebanish you?"  
  
Neos took a lot of effort to not start growling at Rawal at the question, instead focusing on his now-heavy breathing to keep himself some level of calm. He saw the older man lean his head forward, most-likely to study him from under the blue hood that hid most of his face, before nodding slowly and once. "Well, then." Without looking did he reach to one side, grabbing a set of papers that Neos recognized as the same ones Rawal was looking at before getting sent away. "Now, where were we...ah, yes, Mehken."  
  
Flickering through the pages in his hands, Rawal continued to speak. "For several years, she has worked rather well for a servile. However, the level of independence and intelligence that seems to have been recorded for her is at levels I'm not quite wanting in my serviles." Putting the papers back to where he had them by his side, Rawal leaned forward with both hands together in front of him. "Have you noticed anything in her behavior that would indicate that she is less than loyal to us?" After a moment, Rawal glanced down towards Neos' chest. "Do remember that exposing rogues is a sure path to great rewards."  
  
From what little he could piece together, he figured that anyone against Rawal in specific would be considered a 'rogue' and doomed to death. But Neos did not want Mehken to die because of his saying the wrong words in trying to defend her. The only thing he figured could possibly save her now was to make it seem like such intelligence was a good thing...but how?  
  
"If she is as intelligent as you claim, this may be the very reason I'm still around for you to have this chat," Neos began, wracking his brain for the words. "I'd say her being as smart as she is would be a good thing for you, so I don't know what you're afraid of."  
  
A heavy silence fell between the two as Neos could feel Rawal studying him with his gaze, doing his best to remain emotionless and in control of himself despite the building fear he was getting for Mehken's sake. "You may not realize it, but your words confirm my suspicions." Neos couldn't help but widen his eyes at this as his eyebrows went up and Rawal stood up. "That is the kind of thinking rogues are likely to implant into those willing to listen and it seems that she has taken advantage of your previous state to impart such ideas."  
  
Neos resisted the urge to step back as he moved forward. "While the method is questionable, you have indeed confirmed a suspicion of mine. Mehken will be taken care of and I shall reward you for your honesty, even if you were trying to do something else with it." Rawal reached out for Neos' forehead, and upon the touch did Neos realize that he couldn't move. He could still breath and blink, but his ability to speak was shot temporarily. "Now, let's see what we can unlock..."  
  
His vision temporarily blurred before fading to black as Rawal worked his magic, the Shaper's voice almost faint as he seemed to have become seperated from reality. "Yes, you have been Shaped," he barely heard. "Much have been lost, but I can restore...there!" The fact that his voice was sealed was the only reason that Neos didn't scream as what felt to him like a bolt of lightning coursed through his head. The sudden surge within felt as if it lasted for an hour, but as vision and outward sensation began to return to him, he was falling to his knees then his hands.  
  
Once the shock finally lifted, Neos blinked a few times upon realization of some things. One of them being the ability to think just a little bit more clearly as well as the lack of fatigue he hadn't realized he had been dealing with. Looking up towards Rawal, he saw that the Shaper had already returned to his throne. "What was---"  
  
"I have restored some of what was inside of you," Rawal cut him off. "I reward those whom remain loyal, though I allowed some degree of rebellion on such this time. Do not expect this to be frequent." He leaned back as Neos stood back up with a bit of a shake to his step. "Now, for the next business. Your powers."  
  
Neos looked up towards him, the restoration of power, though slight, had him thinking. He already knew Rawal was going to get as much out of him as possible, maybe there was a way to do the same thing back?  
  
"What do you know of me," Neos began. "Where...am I from and...what I can do?"  
  
To these questions, Rawal rose a hand. "Now, now. I will tell you more of that when you have earned it. For now, I will say this." To this, he lowered his hand, returning it onto the armrest. "You have been Shaped."  
  
"Shaped," Neos repeated in question.  
  
"I don't know how, but the powers of the Shapers have been used to alter you. Extensively." Rawal looked away for a moment in thought before returning his gaze back towards Neos. "But what you have gained, you have forgotten." Neos opened his mouth to question him, but Rawal simply shook his head. "You should be grateful. Other Shapers would destroy you."  
  
"Shapers would destroy me? Why?" His voice was hitting higher and higher pitches in panic as the last line echoed in his head.  
  
"The arts used to rework you are illegal." Neos' breathing began to increase in volume and pace. "Very much so. My more..."  Rawal stopped his words for a moment as he brought a hand to his chin in thought. "...tradition-bound fellow Council members would destroy you in an instant if they knew what you are."  
  
"I will conceal it, though," he continued to say after a moment. "I will help you. Keep you safe."  
  
Neos could hear the hanging 'for a price' at the end of that statement.  
  
"Why did I forget what I know," Neos asked, trying to keep himself from visibly shaking.  
  
"You may have been Shaped poorly...or too much, too quickly." These words made Neos mentally question what little Rawal claimed to know about what had happened to him as the Shaper continued to speak. "You were altered poorly, and the result was a long sleep. You are only now recovering."  
  
These words, combined with how Rawal managed to restore even a part of something within him made the blue-haired man question more and more, though the questions mostly didn't leave his head.  
  
"Just...what am I capable of," Neos finally asked, a worried look on his face. Was he really that dangerous?  
  
"I don't know. I want to find out." A tiny grin emerged on Rawal's face that Neos was fairly sure he was trying to keep off. "The more I know, the more useful you will be." Neos closed his eyes and took a deep breath before asking his next question.  
  
"How...can I...regain my power," he asked cautiously. He could have sworn that Rawal finally grinned.  
  
"Some will come with time. Some with training, and some..." Rawal stood up once more, Neos tensing up as the Shaper in blue approached before reaching up towards his forehead. "Now, let us see what further can be unlocked." As soon as contact was made, Neos found himself in the same state as before, paralyzed and unable to move outside of breathing and blinking and his vision fading to black after blurring.  
  
"Let us search," Neos almost didn't register hearing. "I will see what signs I can recognize, what markers...ah. I am not surprised." Like before, another surge began to course through him, causing him to shut his eyes tight from the pain. "The simplest forms were the forms to be implanted."  
  
When Neos regained full awareness this time after the pain of the internal storm finally subsided, he was already fallen over onto his side, with Rawal sitting back in his throne. Two feelings emerged from within as he sat up, a focused confusion and the seeming increase of power. "Help me," Rawal continued, which suggested to Neos that he was not out for long, if at all. "and I can give you so much more." As Neos stood up once more, thankful that this fall to the floor wasn't from the damned thing in his chest, Rawal sighed before leaning back in the throne, almost looking bored. "Now on to the final, tedious business. Your task."  
  
And here is where things start going south, Neos thought to himself as he gulped, making sure he was steady with his standing. "What...is...my task?"  
  
It was at this point that Neos could have sworn Rawal was about to break his hand from gripping the stone throne too hard.


	7. Kawuros

"As you are aware, recently the Foundary has been afflicted by what we have come to start calling the Presence," Neos heard Rawal began to say, the tall man forcing himself to pay attention, even though he had no interest at all. "It is some sort of shade or spirit. When it is nearby, creations are disturbed. Frequently, they go rogue."  
  
Go rogue...  
  
Neos found himself thinking back to when he and Mehken were trying to get out of a part of this supposed Foundry a few days ago, to the Fyora that he managed to bring peace and calmness to and the Artila that attacked despite his attempt to do the same.  
  
"This is disturbing to me," Rawal continued, forcing Neos' attention back on the aggravation that was Shaper Rawal. "Not only is it very difficult for a Shaper to face losing control of creations, but the Presence is costing me considerable money and influence.  
  
"Costing you money and influence," Neos repeated in question, though it sounded more like a dead-panned statement.  
  
"I rule the Foundry," Rawal reminded Neos firmly. "Our task is to take, examine, and care for creations." The look Rawal gave him had Neos think that sometimes more than that is examined for study before being exterminated for their dangerous nature. "It has been for centuries. For this service, I am paid."  
  
An aggravated look emerged on Rawal's face as he leaned forward. "When something forces us to destroy the creations in our care," he continued to say, which Neos had to resist letting loose with a snort, "it costs us, both in reputation and money." Good, Neos thought to himself, careful to not let the thought extend to his facial expression. "For this alone, the Presence must be destroyed."  
  
"Where should I look for it, then?"  
  
Rawal pulled out of his robes a circular crystal that he tossed to Neos, whom thankfully caught it without letting it hit the ground. "That stone glows in the presence of certain sorts of essences and magical energy. I found, through good fortune, that being near the Presence also affects it." Neos looked down towards the jewel now in his hand, how smooth the faint-yellow jewel felt as well as how it seemed to appear almost perfect in appearance.  
  
"I would look in the Foundry Core," Rawal continued, "the networks of tunnels in the mountains to the north. There are several entryways. The most recent disturbances have been in the Eastern Core. Leave Minallah to the east. You will be in the Promenade. Then go north."  
  
"I will make certain that the doors into the Foundry Core open for you. While I seek information on it and ways to trap it, I want you to hunt it." Neos closed one hand into a tight grip at the thought of having to hunt anything for this person. "Get close to it. Examine it. Destroy it if you can. This will be both help me and be an excellent test of your skills."  
  
"How can I destroy it," Neos couldn't resist asking, seeing if maybe, just maybe, the Shaper had some idea of what to do.  
  
"This," Rawal began, a smirk now forming on his face, though only a small one. "will be a good test of your cleverness, I think."  
  
There went that idea, Neos thought. If he knew, he's not sharing on purpose.  
  
"Your mind appears to be fuzzy and clouded, a side effect, I am sure, of whatever made you lose your memory. Perhaps this puzzle will help you to focus your thoughts, at the very least. Oh, before you begin, this may be of help to you." Before Neos could turn away, Rawal produced from his robes a small brown bag, which he tossed to Neos. "I would suggest getting yourself ready for combat. Whether this is by training or by equipment, I shall leave to you. Serve the Shapers and you will receive much more."  
  
"Training," Neos repeated. "What kind of training are you talking about?" Rawal looked away from Neos towards general direction of other people in the distance beyond the walls.  
  
"Indeed, training. Though you are not a full Shaper, I am willing to bend the rules on your behalf. I belong to the Council, after all." After making a mental note to ask about this 'Council' after spending some time away from this guy, Rawal continued. "Speak with Sage Fefer to learn magic and to Shaper Bruel to learn Shaping. I have cleared the way for you."  
  
"...doesn't Manola also teach?" Rawal tilted his head at this question before nodding his head in thought.  
  
"Let us see how you fare, then I may let you learn from her. Considering your overall build, I did not expect you to be one to bring the fight to the opponent. Now, you may leave." Finally, Rawal waved Neos away, to which the twitching in his chest began to stir. For once, Neos wasn't complaining about being made to leave Rawal's sight, considering he wanted out of there to begin with.  
  
As soon as the twitching stopped, which was when he was close to the entrance of the room near the kitchen he had apparently been assigned to, Neos leaned against one of the nearby walls before sliding down it, hands covering his face.  
  
"Just what have I gotten myself into," he muttered to himself before allowing his hands to fall off so that his wrists were on his knees and his hands hung in the air. "I don't even know the first place to start."  
  
"Maybe training could provide a start," he heard, to which Neos lifted his head.  
  
"You," he snarled before getting up onto his feet to share down the blonde haired man in blue robes, Shaper robes, from a few days ago. "Come back to mess with me now that I'm out?"  
  
"Threatening the one that's been assigned to teach you how to Shape, including how to heal yourself, is not a wise action. I can see why Rawal has stated that your mind is clouded, likely to make decisions that will likely result in your early demise." Neos simply narrowed his eyes at him when the shorter man continued. "My name is Shaper Bruel, and I'm here to help you learn how to control your ability to Shape."  
  
Oddly enough, when he stated this, the fidgety man, Bruel, pointed towards one of Neos' hand, which had him raise it to his vision.  
  
Those strange tentacles of energy were back. "What the hell are these things," Neos almost shouted in panic with widened eyes.  
  
"Those are the same tendrils of energy that normally form when a Shaper decides to Shape a new creation," Bruel explained. "I am unsure of why it is appearing without conscious thought, but perhaps a lesson may help you figure out why."  
  
This...this isn't normal?  
  
"You are fortunate," Bruel continued, breaking Neos's thoughts and forcing the tall man to return his attention to the Shaper in front of him. "Under normal circumstances, I could be executed for teaching these secrets to a non-Shaper. Like you, I mean. But, we are in war, and Shaper Rawal is wise enough to know when to stretch the rules."  
  
War?  
  
"What's this about a war," Neos asked, tilting his head as he did. To this, Bruel raised a hand to his clean chin.  
  
"It may be wise to let Shaper Rawal explain about that. For now, it appears as if your own body is wanting you to do something." With that, Bruel turned around before waving for Neos to follow him. Hands slightly held in front of them with the strange bluish-green tendrils still appearing and wiggling about, Neos did just so, following Bruel until they both walked upon an area of floor with a large circle with a seven-pointed star within it that was surrounded with four huge glowing jewels of red.  
  
"What the hell is this place," Neos muttered himself as he looked around, seeing a few serviles scooting around from place to place as well, sometimes to move something or clean something.  
  
A decent amount of time was spent in this spot and Neos was having difficulty focusing. The whole while, the tendrils on his hands never disappeared despite number of times he had tried to make another Fyora as instructed. A groan of aggravation left his throat before grabbing the bangs of his blue hair with them, ignoring the tendrils for the moment. "What am I doing wrong," he cried out in anger, pulling out a hair or two in his grip. "I should be able to..."  
  
As he lowered his hands to open them in front of himself with palms up to the sky, the blue of the hairs in his palms caused a flicker of a thought to cross his mind.  
  
Blue.  
  
Cold.  
  
Fyora.  
  
Cryoa.  
  
For a brief flicker, like when he was seeing the Fyoras in his vision earlier, he found himself looking at another spectral entity in front of him. Reptilian, on two legs, but blue instead of red scales. It appeared to have been looking at him as if it was waiting for him.  
  
Raising his hands, it felt as if he had no control over the motions his hands were making, however, he felt no urge to try and resist these motions. In fact, it felt as if he had done them before. A few minutes passed as a form slowly emerged in front of Neos, Bruel wisely staying back and watching to observe. Large claws appeared upon the ground before the light that made it rose, creating substance and shape as it did. A tail soon formed from the back end before finally forming a narrow head that opened with violet eyes.  
  
Eyes that focused on Neos and glimmered with a smile.  
  
"...Ka...Kawu...ros..." Neos stumbled as he spoke a word that had no immediate meaning to him. "Kawuros."  
  
The creature nodded in response to the word. It was a name, its name.  
  
It was then that Neos somehow realized that he had made this particular cryoa before.  
  
"Amazing," they both heard before cryoa and human turned towards the source, towards Shaper Bruel, whom had some form of book he was writing in while holding it in his hands. "I've given no instruction as to how to Shape the Fyora's advanced form, and yet you were able to do so unguided." Neos couldn't help but look at the guy with a blank look on his face before feeling a nudge against his back, causing him to look back.  
  
The cryoa was nudging him towards one of the exits of this area. "It appears to be pushing you towards where I currently have a couple of rogue serviles penned up," Bruel stated, which had Neos turn towards him.  
  
"Penned? As in you corralled some in there?"  
  
Bruel looked up towards the stone ceiling in thought. "Well, more like they were already there when the Presence turned them rogue, but that' is neither here nor there." At this did Bruel look back towards Neos, raising his hood finally back over his head. "Maybe eliminating them will give you a proper warm-up in how to control your cryoa in combat. "They've already struck out at me, which is an instant death sentence for any creation that dares attack a Shaper."  
  
"Maybe you shouldn't have been doing whatever you did to piss them off," Neos quickly responded, resulting in Bruel narrowing his gaze at him.  
  
"I was simply trying to gather something in the storeroom that they are in. I have done nothing wrong."  
  
I doubt that, Neos thought before feeling another nudge towards the same direction as earlier. "Oh, there are some things in there that would likely be useful in your hunt for the Presence. Clear the rogues and you can take what you want."  
  
With this, Neos had the idea of taking out of there anything and everything that wasn't pinned down and could be sold for some level of profit, just to make these folks mad. Upon entering the storeroom, however, he felt himself black out just before one of the serviles looked at him with a crazed rage...


End file.
